A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) Sets New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

A. O. Smith Co. (NYSE:AOS)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $67.41 and last traded at $67.59, with a volume of 66785 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.43.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AOS shares. DA Davidson downgraded shares of A. O. Smith from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $80.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on A. O. Smith from $82.00 to $81.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on A. O. Smith from $91.00 to $90.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup lowered their target price on A. O. Smith from $85.00 to $78.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded A. O. Smith from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, A. O. Smith has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.17.

A. O. Smith Trading Down 0.8 %

The business has a fifty day moving average of $73.42 and a 200-day moving average of $79.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a current ratio of 1.67. The company has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.86, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

A. O. Smith (NYSE:AOS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 22nd. The industrial products company reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82. A. O. Smith had a net margin of 14.41% and a return on equity of 30.09%. The firm had revenue of $957.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $960.36 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.90 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that A. O. Smith Co. will post 3.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

A. O. Smith Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This is an increase from A. O. Smith’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. A. O. Smith’s dividend payout ratio is 35.79%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On A. O. Smith

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AOS. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the third quarter valued at about $1,726,000. Legacy Capital Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in shares of A. O. Smith by 37.6% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 185,768 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $15,409,000 after buying an additional 50,798 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of A. O. Smith in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,372,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of A. O. Smith by 1.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 3,586,905 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $321,348,000 after acquiring an additional 52,593 shares during the last quarter. 76.10% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

A. O. Smith Company Profile

A. O. Smith Corporation manufactures and markets residential and commercial gas and electric water heaters, boilers, heat pumps, tanks, and water treatment products in North America, China, Europe, and India. The company offers water heaters for residences, restaurants, hotels, office buildings, laundries, car washes, and small businesses; boilers for hospitals, schools, hotels, and other large commercial buildings, as well as homes, apartments, and condominiums; and water treatment products comprising point-of-entry water softeners, well water solutions, and whole-home water filtration products, and point-of-use carbon and reverse osmosis products for residences, restaurants, hotels, and offices.